Role of Hydrogen Peroxide in Blood Vessels Studied

Hydrogen Peroxide Role Studied in Blood Vessels

The Medical College of Wisconsin received a four year, $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study the role of naturally produced hydrogen peroxide in controlling human blood flow. This process has considerable relevance for patients with coronary artery disease.

David D. Gutterman, M.D., the Northwestern Mutual Professor of Cardiology, professor of medicine and of physiology, and senior associate dean for research, is the principal investigator for the grant.

The control of blood flow related to the widening or narrowing of blood vessels is a function of the inner lining of the vessels, called the endothelium. Researchers in Dr. Gutterman’s lab have observed a unique relationship between dilation in heart blood vessels from patients with coronary artery disease and the endothelial production of hydrogen peroxide, a natural byproduct of the metabolism of oxygen. Production occurs in the endothelial mitochondria (the energy generating compartment of cells). So far, the association of vessel dilation with mitochondrial hydrogen peroxide has only been reported in human hearts.

This study by Dr. Gutterman aims to identify new links between hydrogen peroxide and blood vessels that are responsible for supplying blood to the human heart. His research is meant to expand the understanding of the biological signals and responses that occur in blood vessels and directly impact chronic coronary artery disease in patients.